Automatic well-flowing device



Feb. 24, 1931. A. BOYNTON 1,793,671

I AUTOMATIC WELL FLOWING DEVICE i IINVENTOR fllexamzen fiayzzto/v ATTORNEY -19 I Mi/M9 Patented Feb. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcs ALEXANDER BOYNTON, OF SAN ANTQRIO, TEXAS AUTOMATIC WELL-FLOWING nn'vren Application filed November is, 1927, Serial no. 233,499. if

ent filed June 1, 1927, SerialNo. 195,7 39, is

to provide a valve apparatus for controlling the introduction of pressure fluid into a column of liquid desired to be raised so that the latter may be set in motion and elevated toward the surface.

A further object of the invention is to utilize the velocity of the u wardly movin hquid column for theregu ation of the a ission of the pressure fluid by which the lifting energy is supplied.

Other objects and advantages appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the improved valve apparatus,

Figure 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a cross section taken on the line 33 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of the so-called by-passing plunger or valve element referred to later. i In carrying out the invention, provision is made of a cylindrical shell or valve body 5 into the opposite extremities of which couplingheads or bushings 6 and 7. are screwed or otherwise fastened. Each bushing has provision for the the reception of adjoining sections 9 of the tubing string in 'which the valve apparatus is connected. The upper bushing acts as a stop and the lower bus ng as a rest fora hollow weight.

p The reader may imagine thevalve apparatus as being suspended inthe casing of a well by means of the foregoing tubing string. It must also be supposed that the well casing (not shown) contains fluid (air or gas) under pressure. This constitutes the pressure fluid referred to, by which the liquid is elevated; I Locatd thin the valve body at one side is an enlargmegtj'pr valve casing 10-.with a longitudinal bore 11 communicating with inlet and outlet ports 12 and 13 for the upper and lowerends respectively, the latter port 1 being formed in a bushing 13 screwed or otherwise secured in the upper extremity of u the bore. A bevel 14 at the innermost end of the port 13 providesa valve seat-with which the plunger or valve element15 may engage when lifted by the pressure of fluid by-passingit in the bore 11 tothe point of egress at 60 the port 13. 1

A stem 16', comprisingoan extension of the plunger or valve element 15, is movable in the bushing 13a when the plunger is movable in the bore 11, the foregoin movement being as a matter under the centre of the so-calle I revampingtube or nipple 17; I This tube comprises a hollow wei t which is loose in the shell. The inlet an of thetube is decidedly flared at 18 to produce-a liquid expansion chainber, the remaining and ma'or nternal portion of the tube bemg'cylin ical. The opposite end (upper en iin ithis instance) carries a flange or piston 19,-

There is a slight distance between the extremity of the valve stem 16 andpiston 19 thus permitting slightopening of the valveelement 15, 'so that pressure fluid may enter the well tubing during times of slight diiferentials of 'ressures inside and outside of the tubing. 'l his accomplishment obtains while the revamping tube or nipple remains in resting position upon the lower bushing 7. Of

necessity, the revamping tube an piston' have easy working fits within the valve body, enough clearance being provided to insure the desired easy movement even should sand particles or the like get between the working surfaces. The foregoing looseness in respect to the piston '19 is also essentialfor the free passage of'the pressure fluid around the edge of the iston' and into the well tubing.

The" ores 8 of the bushings6 and 7 form part of the liquid conduit, it'being observed that the diameter of the bores is the same as 9 the internal diameter of the adjacent tube sections 9 and the internal diameter of the revamping tube 17 That portion of the bore 8 in the bushing 7 adjoin ng the flared end 18 of the revamping tube is enlarged, flared,

or laterally curved at 20 which, with the frusto-conical flare 18 of the tube, completes the liquid expansion chamber previously alluded to. Ordinarily it may be supposed that the weight of the tube 17 and the carried piston 18 would be suflicient to insure the gravitation of the revamping element to a seating position upon thebushing 7.. While this result obtains in practice, yet it is preferred tomake sure of the action by the addition of a light coil spring 21. This coil spring is inter-- posed between the piston 19 and the shoulder 22 of a'narrow chamber 23 formed. by cutting awa a portion of the bushing 6.

- 0 effect of the s ring is to resist the upward movement of t e revamping element as the pressure differential increases, or in other words, as the velocity of the liquid column increases, and to accelerate the down movement thereof as the differentials of pressures tend to'equalize, due to a slowing down of the foreupper seat at a and states the spacing rule correctly, but flow will be initiated and maintained if the weight going movement of the liquid column. I The spring compensates for a lack of weight of the revamping'element. .It may be added that varying compression stresses of the spring may very properly be used to obtain working adjustments whlch the dead weight of the revamping element would not roperly afford even if such dead weight could be increased or decreased at will.

. The difference between the diameters of the plloungego and plunger chambers should vary. m

5"- to .025". The diameter of the spring 21 should be from to A and should be wrapped iirproper itch .to produce sealing-off .enga ement of p unger upon its ifl'erential pressure varying from lbs. to 100 lbs. per square inch.

The devices should be so sgpaced in the tubing string that the weight 0 fluid in the tub ving between adjacent devices is from onefourth to one-half as much as the of the fluid per square inch between the valves is only slightly less than the pressure per square inch required to compress the spring sufficiently to cause the plunger to seal-01f upon its upper seat.- For illustration, assame the weight of the fluid between any two adjacent devices to be 30 lbs. per square inch, then the pressure per square inch required to. com ress the spring until the plunger seals-o upon its upper seat must be slightly over 30 lbs. and should, as first stated, be from lbs. to 120 lbs.

The operation may be readily understood.

valve apparatus pictured in Figure 1 to the well tubing for the purpose of mov-' ing a column of liquid. upwardlyin the well tubing. The valve apparatus now under consideration constitutes the automatic control of the admission of the pressure fluid.

It is easy to understand that an appropriate velocity of the moving liquid column will hold the so=called revamping element 17 in an elevated position within the valve chamber 5, and that'the superior external fluid pressure will hold the valve element 15 in sealing-off engagement with the seat 14 so that none of the pressure fluid may get into the well tubing. .Suppose, now, that the liquid column slows in its movement so that the revamping element is permitted to settle back both by virtue of its own weightand by the action of thespring 21.

This settling of the revampingl element will depress the plunger 15 from t e seat 14 so that a little pressure fluid may enter, thus enlivening the liquid column and speeding the motion to what it ought to be. It is clear that a marked retardation of the liquid column will result in a pronounced opening of the valve element 15 sothat volumes of pressure fluid will be admitted quite in agreement with the needs.

been said before, that it is the velocity of the upwardly moving liquid column that regulates-the admission of the lifting energy. The structure herein disclosed does not depend for its operation directly upon differences of pressure inside {and outside of the tubing for the admission of lifting energy as-is the case in other applications, but depends upon the cause'of this difierential for the actuating meansf-in other words, the

. '16s The reader willunderstand from what has velocity of the upwardly moving r-liquid column.

An understanding of the foregoing principle is materially aided when it is borne-inmmd that the liquid expansion chamber, previously designated as. com rising the flared portio'- and 20, provi esefor such action of th faithful response-{of the revamping element.

The upwardly moving liquid, upon reaching this chamhenpromptly expand and immeaid as will induce a very.

diately again contracts when itreaches the.

diminishing throat leading up into the tube 17.

It is this peculiar manipulation of the liquid that has led to the term revamping. The contraction or revamping of the moving liquid gives rise to a resistancewhich causes the revamping element 17 to be lifted when the velocity of such column has become properly accelerated.

As has been brought out already, this liftshell the inlet bushing being flared, a valve element'operable in the passageway having a portion to engage the seat and a stem ex tending through and beyond the bore, a revamping tube having a flare adjoining the flare of the inlet bushing to define a liquid expansion chamber the flare of the tube be-' ing guided within the shell, and a piston carried by the tube loosely guided within the shell and extending over the stem.

2. Flowing apparatus comprising a shell having an internal enlargementproviding a valve casing which has a passageway afford ing communication between the interior and exterior, a bushing fitted in the passageway having a bore furnished with a valve'seat, hollow inlet and outlet bushings in the ends of the shell the inlet bushing being flared, a valve element operable in the passageway having a portion to engage the seat and a stem extending through and beyond the bore, a revamping tube having a flare adjoining the flare of the inlet bushing to define a liquid expansion chamber, the flare of the tube being guided within the shell, a piston carried by the tube loosely guided within the shell and extending over the stem, and a spring interposed between the piston and the outlet bushing.

3. Flowing apparatus comprising a shell having a fluid passageway affording communication between the interior and exterior, means defining a rest near one end of the shell, a hollow weight loose inthe shell one end of which weight is adapted to engage the rest, a piston on the other end of the weight,

and a valve element operable in the passageway co-acting with the piston.

passageway and having a stem capable of pro-. trading from the passageway into the shell at the other end of the enlargement, a hollow weight loose in the -she'll one end of which is .adapted to engage the rest, and a piston on the other end of the weight occupying a posi' tion adjoining said other end of the enlargement and engageable with the valve stem.

5. Flowing apparatus comprising a shell having an internal enlargement with a passageway afl'ording communication between the interior and exterior, means in the ends of the shell respectively defining a stop adjacent to the 'open end of the passageway and a rest adjacent to the other end of the enlargement, a valve element operable in thepassageway having a stem capable of pro.-

truding through the open end,ahollow weight which at one end is adapted to engage the rest and which is movable in a zone between the rest and said other end of the enlargement, and a piston at the other end of the weight, co-acting with the valve stem and being movable in a zone between the stop and the open end of the passageway.

6. Flowing apparatus comprising a shell having a fixed bushing with a fluid bore laterally curved toward the interior of the shell and terminating in a rest, and a hollow weight loose within the shell, the major internal portion of the weight being cylindrical \and having a frusto-conical flare the largest end of which is adapted to engage the rest to produce a liquid expansion chamber.

7. Flowing apparatus comprising a shell having a passageway with an open end communicating with the interior of the shell, a valve element operable in the passageway having a stem working through the open end, a hollow bushin having a portion cut away to define a chamber and a shoulder, a weight loose in the shell having a piston operable between the bushing and the open .end of the passageway for engagement with said stem, and resilient means in the chamber abutting the shoulder and the piston.

Signed at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, this 25th day of October A. D. 1927. 1

ALEXANDER BOYNTON.

4. Flowing apparatus comprising a shell having an internal enlargement with a pas sageway aifordmg communication between the interior and exterior, means in the shell 4 defining a rest adjoining one end of the enlargement, a valve element operable in the 

